A New Feel
by HydeLuver
Summary: Takes place after "The Worst Couple." Tori helps cheer Beck up after his breakup -two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is the first story I've written about the show and I hope you all like it. I have only watched a few episodes of the show and got the idea for this story after watching "The Worst Couple." I would love to hear feedback from those of you who are regulars to the fandom so please review and leave any constructive criticism you may have. Thanks in advance for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious nor the characters of the show. **

It's been nearly two hours since Jade left and the other members of the group were getting reading to go home. Andre is helping Cat find her purse which she is convinced was abducted by Rex while they were all playing poker. Trina and Robbie are over by the staircase debating a hand Trina had during a game. Robbie is positive Trina cheated and she is acting adamant and insulted at the accusation even though she actually did cheat. Tori is clearing a few dishes from the table while Beck is sitting on the sofa, staring at his pear phone.

Tori glances over at him and can't help but feel sad for the guy. Not only did his relationship just end, it ended in front of all his friends which must have been a blow to his self-esteem. She herself couldn't believe that after two years, his relationship with Jade ended so abruptly. She thought that he would certainly follow her outside and they would work out their problems like they always did. She is curious as to what made this time different but could not bring herself to ask him.

"It's getting late, we should get going" says Andre and the others nod in agreement. As he, Cat and Robbie start heading towards the door, Beck stands up and walks towards Tori. "Is it okay if I stay a little longer?" he whispers, "I don't feel up to having to answer questions about Jade right now" he continues subtly motioning towards the group. Tori nods. As much as she loves her friends, she knows they can be a little aggressive when they want answers and is almost certain they will hound Beck along the way to figure out why he made the decision he did.

"I'm just going to stay a few more minutes, need a little more time to think" Beck says to his other friends. All three nod, unable to hide their disappointment.

"See you guys tomorrow" waves Tori from the kitchen where she is still cleaning up.

"See ya"

"Bye"

"Later" they all said in near unison.

As they close the door behind them, Trina can not contain her excitement that Beck stayed behind. She has never been able to hide her crush for him, although chances are that is not her intention. She sits on the couch where he is and inches herself closer and closer until she is face to face with him.

"Sooo..." she starts, "I know you're single now and, well...I'm also single so if you ever want to...you know." Her eyebrows wiggle up and down and her smile broadens. Tori watches in amazement a few feet away. As crazy as her sister is, she had not expected her to make a move this fast or this aggressively.

"Trina, not now okay?" responds Beck standing up from the edge of the couch.

Trina's smile falters a bit but she is clearly not defeated. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me" she replies with a wink. Creepily, she ascends up the stairs, never breaking eye contact with him.

Tori can't help but laugh. Trina's crush on Beck is one of those things that always confuses her. Beck isn't the kind of guy she would peg Trina to like. She is a little looney and loud. She is also materialistic and likes to have all the attention to herself, all the time. From what Tori has seen of Beck during his relationship with Jade, he is the exact opposite. He isn't afraid to put things in perspective when his significant other gets too out of hand. Tori can attest to this first hand having seen the numerous times he has stopped Jade from hurting her in the past. Also, unlike Trina, he was more mysterious and reserved. The only time he craved attention was when he was acting onstage.

Beck looks curiously over at Tori who has been starting at him for a few seconds now.

"Tori?" he says curiously.

"Huh?" she responds, her trance interrupted.

"You're staring" he replies firmly. He is back on the couch still glancing over at his phone. Tori guesses he is either waiting for Jade to call or deciding if he should call her to reconcile.

"Right, sorry."

He nods.

A few minutes of silence go bye in which Tori has cleared the table and placed dishes in the dishwasher. She looks over at the kitchen clock and notices that it's a few minutes past 10 and begins to wonder how much longer Beck would need before heading home. She didn't mind keeping him company, but she also hasn't spend much time with him alone.

Whenever they hung out, it was always with the rest of the group or Jade was around. Come to think about it, as long as she has known Beck, this is the first time they have been alone longer than twenty minutes. She smiles a bit at the realization. Once she sees him still sulking, however, she acknowledges that the circumstances aren't the best. She isn't very good at comforting people who just got out of a relationship, mostly because it isn't something she has had much experience in. Sure she's had her share of boyfriends throughout the years, but none have amounted to serious relationships like Beck and Jade's. It saddens her a bit that she hasn't had a serious relationship yet, but she was young. She was sure it would happen sooner or later, preferably sooner.

"I never noticed how ofter you tend to zone out" says Beck while still looking at this phone.

"I never noticed how often you just stare at the blank screen of your phone" she replies sarcastically.

He shoots her a small smile and places his phone on the coffee table.

"Sorry" he says.

"No need to apologize." Tori walks over to the single couch nearest to the door, sits down and takes her shoes off.

"I don't know how girls do it, walk around in those things all day. Your feet must hurt all the time" says Beck referring to Tori's heels.

"You get used to them after a while."

They both sit in silence for a few minutes. Tori yawns a few times. Her head is leaning on the back of the couch and her eyes are closed which makes Beck smile.

"If you're tired I can go" he tells her.

"No it's alright, stay as long as you need to. I'm just resting my eyes, see" she says while opening her eyes as wide as possible, "wide awake."

"Convincing" he says. Suddenly his phone vibrates and he reaches over towards the coffee table to get it. As he begins to read a message, Tori closes her eyes again. She figures the message is from Jade and does not want him to think she is being nosey. After about a minute, however, she hears him groaning in frustration and opens her eyes.

Beck is holding his phone in his right hand and runs his fingers through his hair. He is still reading the message but this time Tori can't seem to look away. Whatever it is, it must not be good if he is getting this upset about it. About a minute later, she sees him turn the phone off and place it back on the table.

"Is...is everything alright?" she asks with hesitation.

He quickly shakes his head and lifts his head to look at her. "She's frustrating."

"Was it Jade?"

He simply nods.

"I'm really sorry. I know you don't want to talk about it but I think it sucks that you guys broke up."

He furrows his brows and looks away from her. "Don't be sorry, it was bound to happen."

"Oh" is all she can manage to reply. While Jade is not exactly her friend, Tori did not want to speak badly of her, especially to someone who she was in a relationship with for such a long time.

"Who the hell does she think she is anyway? Giving me an ultimatum like that? The whole thing just got too out of hand."

"Your relationship you mean?" Tori asks. She knows she shouldn't ask, knows it's not her place to be curious but she can't help herself. Something about his vulnerability makes her want to make him feel better.

Once again he nods. Turning to look at her again, he adds "Jade is not as bad as you think she is. I know it's hard to believe but under that mean girl facade she is pretty nice."

Tori's brows rise and she nods unconvincingly.

He laughs. "I know you of all people don't believe it, but it's true."

"So why didn't you go outside before she finished counting? I'm sure you guys could work everything out."

"I just can't take it anymore. I love her and she's been my best friend for over a year but she's too damn insecure for it to work out. No matter how much I reassure her, we always end up having the same argument. There's only so much someone can take before counting their losses you know?"

"Jade? Insecure? Sorry but I can't picture that." Tori says trying hard to visualize it. Since she entered Hollywood Arts, Jade has gone out of her way to be mean to Tori. The few times they managed to be civil to each other were far in between for Tori to even believe that Jade can be insecure about anything.

"It's true."

"What does she possibly have to be insecure about? She pretty much has everything she's wanted."

Beck looks over at Tori with a slight smile. He likes how unaware she can be sometimes. That endearing quality is one he remembers Jade having when he first met her years before. He isn't sure when she stopped being that girl, but somewhere along the line she became someone he didn't recognize.

"It's not so much a what but rather a who" he says hoping she understands.

"Who would she need to be insecure about? Isn't everyone afraid of her?" Tori asks even more incredulous.

Beck suddenly gets up from the couch, drags the coffee table closer to the couch where Tori is seated and sits at the edge of the table.

"You mean me?" she asks finally beginning to understand. "Why would Jade be insecure about me?"

"Ever since you came to Hollywood Arts, everyone has paid attention to you. You're smart, funny, talented...beautiful. Jade has been threatened by you since the moment she saw you wiping coffee from my shirt your first day there. She's afraid you'll take away everything she's wanted."

"I wouldn't do that. We might not be the best of friends, but I'm not like that."

"I know." Beck is inching closer to Tori and their knees are touching. He takes her hands and begins to caress them gently. "That's what scares her the most, that you're doing everything without trying to."

Tori's eyes start to glaze over and her heart beat increases. She looks down at her hands in his and her breath intensifies. Unsure of where this is heading, she does not know how to react. Part of her knows she should not be doing this and yet the other part is too intrigued to stop. She would be lying if she says she's never considered thinking about being with Beck. Actually, since the day she kissed him during the alphabet improv class, she has occasionally thought about kissing him again, just to see if he was still as a good a kisser as she remembered.

Without saying a word, Beck begins to move his face closer to hers and stops just a few centimeters away. "If you don't want me to, I won't" he says waiting to see if she will close the distance and kiss him.

"I don't think we should" she whispers. The warmth of his breath and the faint scent of his cologne are tempting her to close the gap and take a risk, but the bit of rational thinking she has left warns her against this. _He just broke up with his girlfriend _it says. _Don't be the rebound girl._

She gently pulls her hand away from his and shakes her head slowly. "I can't, sorry."

Beck leans back and nods his head in understanding. "It's alright, I get it. I'm sorry for putting you in this position."

"No, no it's not that I don't want to. I really do, but, well...I don't want to be someone you kiss just because you're feeling down. I don't want to be your rebound."

"You wouldn't be" he replies firmly.

"I would feel like it. I think you just need to figure out what's going to happen with you and Jade before we can figure out a next step."

"That sounds fair" he says. He gets off the table, puts it back in its original place and starts putting his jacket on. Tori stands up from the couch and takes a deep breath. She is frustrated and disappointed that she didn't take this risk, but she knows it is for the best. In the event that Jade and Beck decided to get back together, she won't feel used.

Once his jacket is on, Beck walks over to Tori and cups her face with his hands. The gaze into each others' eyes and smile. He kisses her on the forehead before letting go. She walks towards the door and opens it for him.

"Thanks for letting me stay" he says.

"You're welcome."

He quickly places another kiss on her forehead and leaves. As she closes the door, she smiles widely. Even though she wanted to kiss him, she is happy with the closeness, the intimacy, they just shared. She can only hope that she didn't just blow her chances with him.

As she is about to turn the lights, Trina comes running down the stairs wearing her pajamas and Fazzini boots. "Guess who's back?" she says loudly.

"Beck just left" says Tori looking at her sister incredulously.

"Dang it" yelled Trina and goes back upstairs.

Tori shakes her head in disbelief and turns the light off.

**Fin**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I decided to add a second chapter to this story because it didn't feel complete to me. Thanks to those of you who read and especially those who reviewed, I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

The next day, Tori is running late to school. She barely got any sleep once Beck left her house. All she could think about was how close they had been and their almost-kiss. It feels like a dream to her. The fact that they had been so close to each other is something that is still running through her mind. She swears she can still smell his cologne and feel the sensations of his hands touching hers. While she is still reveling in that particular event, part of her can not help but think about Jade. Tori wonders if Beck will eventually get back together with Jade or if what happened between them the night before meant enough to him to not go back to her.

She abruptly opens the front doors of Hollywood Arts and races towards Sikowitz's classroom. She is already about twenty minutes late and she knows how much he hates tardiness. Right before opening the door to the class, she stops and tries to catch her breath. She remembers that both Beck and Jade are in this class also and instantly becomes anxious.

After a few seconds, she turns the door handle and steps inside quietly. She sees Beck, Jade and Cat on stage acting out a scene. Sikowitz glances over at her and nods his head in acknowledgment while sticking a straw into a coconut. Tori returns the nod and finds an empty seat towards the back of the class. Everyone around her seems to be entranced by the scene taking place.

Jade, in character, is on her knees holding on to Beck's left leg, pleading to him. "Please! I am sorry, just don't leave. Please don't leave me" she says convincingly.

Beck brushes her off and walks to the other side of the stage. He runs his fingers through his hair and crosses his arm across his chest. Jade crosses the stage in desperation and wraps her arms around him. "Don't shut me out, I love you. I love you and I'll do anything to fix this, please" she continues her plead.

"Stop" says Beck grabbing her arms and dropping them on her side. "You need to understand that I've moved on."

"Is it because of her? Have you moved on to her?" spits Jade angrily. "You want to be with her and that is why you're leaving me." Beck looks at Jade and needs to remind himself to stay in character no matter how much the scene is ringing true to him. He looks on as Cat's character starts convincing Jade to let him go. What are the odds that the day after their breakup, and after what happened in Tori's house, he would be acting out this particular scene with Jade?

He suddenly notices Tori sitting in the back row. He had been so engrossed in the scene that he didn't notice her come in. Just by looking at her, he can see that she, like him, is a bit uncomfortable with the scene. Their eyes met for a second in which he shot her a nervous smile which she quickly returned. Beck turns back to see Jade looking at him and then at Tori, her brows raised. He gets back into character hoping Sikowitz will yell cut already.

-35 minutes later-

Beck is standing by his locker with Andre. They are discussing a new song Andre is working on which he plans on having Tori sing. Within minutes, Jade walks over to the two guys and joins in the conversation. Beck tenses up a bit but does not want to make it awkward for the rest of his friends and decides it's better to just be civil with Jade. God knows their constant arguing annoyed their friends and he did not want things to be the same when he was single.

The trio is still talking and laughing when Cat and Tori walk into the school and stop at the top of the stairs. Beck instantly notices them and smiles when he sees Tori dancing along to a song a student is performing. He couldn't believe how carefree she is. Even when things are going downhill, she finds ways to make everyone smile and went out of her way to make everything okay. This is quite the opposite from how his ex-girlfriend is. Even though he stayed with Jade for as long as he did, her constant negativity and pessimism turned him off. Frankly, that is one of the main reasons he did not open Tori's door when she was counting to ten. He knew then that if he gave in, she would continue to think her behavior and treatment of others is acceptable.

Jade notices her ex-boyfriend (gosh how she hates that she has to call him this) looking at Tori in what she would describe as a loving stare. She can't believe how obvious he is being. They just broke up and he is already checking Tori out _in front of her. _She knew from the very beginning that she had to be cautious about Tori and yet Beck always reassured her that he didn't have those feelings for Tori, that she was simply just a friend.

He couldn't deny it now. The prove stood right in front of her. He could not hide that stare. It's the same stare he had reserved just for her, the stare that made her fall in love with him all over again. Now, it belonged to the one person she disliked most. Unable to contain herself, Jade decides it's a good idea to confront Beck right then and there. She doesn't care if everyone, including Tori, hears her. She is going to get to the bottom of this.

"Well, well...I guess it's a good thing you decided to break up with me now seeing as how you can't keep your eyes off little Ms. Vega over there" she starts, pointing over at Tori by the staircase.

Beck is slightly taken aback by her sudden outburst because he thought things were going just fine. They were both having a good conversation with Andre just mere seconds ago and now she is trying to argue with him. He just stares are her, annoyed that this is happening.

"Damn it Beck, you can't even wait a day before you start thinking about dating _her_" she yells frantically.

By now, everyone in the hallway has turned their attention to them. Tori looks on confused and extremely embarrassed as Jade continues shooting her dirty looks across the hall. People go from looking at Jade and Beck to looking at her. Their questioning, and yet knowing looks were enough to want to make her crawl under a rock and never come out.

"I'm not doing this with you" Beck says under his breath. He looks besides him at Andre he looks almost as mortified as he feels. Andre raises his hands and shakes his head. He, like Beck, wants no part in this fiasco and within minutes, walks away from the pair. For the first time in his life, Beck is envious of Andre and wishes he could run away from this that easily. However, he knows Jade well enough to know that if he walks away, she will only follow spewing more insults about him and Tori.

"Oh hey everyone, Beck Oliver" she says and starts pointing at him, "this guy right here says he isn't going to do _this _with me but guess who he would probably do it with? Any guesses? Anyone?" she looks around the hall to see if there are any takers. Everyone remains silent and continues looking on, amused. She suddenly smiles wickedly and starts heading over to the stairs where Tori is standing.

Tori sees where this is heading but is too afraid, too flustered to move. With just a few steps, Jade is at her side smiling wickedly. "Tell us Tori" she says loudly, "who could Beck possibly want to do "this" with?" Jade's smile quickly falters and she is now looking directly into Tori's eyes. "Tell us" she grumbles under her breath so only Tori can head.

Tori looks around at all the people looking at her and her eyes suddenly fall on Beck a few feet away. His apologetic look starts up a mix of emotions within her. She is feeling everything from being embarrassed to feeling sorry for Jade and even getting butterflies from Beck looking at her.

"Let me tell you why Tori here can't bring herself to answer that question. It is because this little _tramp_ is the reason my _boyfriend_ broke up with me. That's what she does, she plays little miss innocent so everyone likes her and then **BAM**, she stabs you in the back and steals your man."

Tori is just about to open her mouth to defend herself when a sudden deafening yell comes from across the hall.

"ENOUGH!" yells Beck. He quickly makes his way towards the stairs and stops within inches of Jade's face. Tori can see his chest heaving heavily up and down and notices the most terrifying look in his eyes she has ever seen. Even though his anger is directed towards Jade, she also feels extremely intimidated. She looks around and sees that she isn't the only one. Several people have dispersed and others are trying hard not to look towards the scene any more. Jade looks even more afraid. This is the first time Beck has spoken to her this way and she is terrified of what comes after.

"You really crossed the line Jade, you really did. You have some goddamn nerve making this scene and playing the victim. I am so sick and tired of _this" _he continues motioning at the space between them. "During our entire relationship, whenever something went wrong you turn me into the bad guy and I'm sick of it. I didn't break up with you because of Tori. I broke up with you because I'm tire of your bullshit. I'm tired of putting up with your nasty attitude and trying to be the perfect boyfriend to you and what do I get in return? I get you bitching about everything and now this."

Jade's eyes widen at how easily the words are coming out of him. She can tell he is being truthful and perhaps has thought about this before because not once did he stumble over his words. Calling her a bitch and saying how awful a girlfriend she has been seem to be easy things to do. Although, she couldn't possibly have been that bad if he stuck around for two years.

"So you're really going to stand there and tell me that she has nothing to do with you breaking up with me? You really expect me to believe that?" Jade challenges.

Beck looks over at Tori who has taken a few steps back and is trying hard to look elsewhere. He wants more than anything to just get her out of this entire situation and make her feel comfortable, just as she had been when she was dancing earlier.

"BECK!" yells Jade. "Stop looking at her. This is exactly what I mean. I know that something is going on between you two."

"I didn't lie to you when we were together and I have no reason to lie to you now. I'm not going to stand here and say that there is nothing going on between Tori and me. I have feelings for her and I know she has feelings for me. Lucky for you, however, she is nice enough to respect _our _relationship and has never crossed any lines that would disrespect you."

"So you're saying you had feelings for her while we were still together?" asks Jade. She wants him to admit it. She wants him to finally confirm her doubts once and for all.

Beck crosses his arms and looks intently at Jade. This is where she wanted this argument to go. He knew that this wouldn't end until he told her the truth, but it is something he did not want to do. By admitting that he did in fact care about Tori during his time with her, he would basically be undermining their entire relationship and it isn't something he wants to do. As unhappy as he was in the last few months, he did in fact have some good times with her and had loved her. He didn't want her to think the whole thing was a lie, because it wasn't. He still cherishes the good times they had together and appreciates the good memories.

"Since it's taking you so long to answer I guess that's a yes" she says.

He simply nods his head.

"God I knew it! And all that time you told me I had nothing to worry about and now you're telling me you've had feelings for her the entire time."

"And you didn't have anything to worry about. Yes I have feelings for Tori, but I was in love with you. You were my girlfriend and I wasn't going anywhere. Everything was fine until you let your damn insecurities get the best of you and then I just couldn't put up with it anymore."

Jade shakes her head in disappointment. "I'm sure saying that and blaming my "insecurities" makes you feel better, but let's get this straight Beck Oliver, you are the one who had feelings for someone else while you were with me. Needless to say I was justified in being cautious around her."

Tori is now feeling worst than before. She understands what Jade is saying and she almost wishes Beck would not have admitted his feelings towards her. Without thinking, she intervenes. "Jade, I am really sorry-"

Jade raises her hand to stop her. "Don't. Talk. To. Me. Don't you dare talk me."

"Jade I didn't mean for-" Tori persists but is interrupted by a loud yell escaping from Jade's lips.

"I HATE BOTH OF YOU" she yells before storming off.

Tori looks after her and then at Beck. He has taken a seat on one of the stairs and is rubbing his forehead. Unsure of what to do, she goes down the stairs and leans down in front of him. She takes his hands in hers and forces him to look into her eyes. She can see the exasperation in his eyes and it upsets her that she has come between him and Jade, even if she is glad that he is single.

"I'm really sorry Beck, I didn't mean for this to happen" she says sincerely.

Beck looks on curiously as she continues to apologize to him. He isn't sure why she feels responsible for his ex-girlfriend's outburst or the downfall of his relationship. After all, he has tried to make it perfectly clear to both her and Jade that his decision was based solely on his unhappiness with Jade. He understands though that this is just how Tori is. Her urgency to make him feel better is greater than the shame Jade just brought upon her. He listens on as she continues to apologize for over a minute.

He tries to interrupt her several times in vain. Finally, he takes her face in his hands and crashes his lips into hers. The kiss starts off as a gentle one but he is surprised when she leans into him and deepens it and starts kissing him passionately. Neither of them pay any mind to the fact that they are in school or the fact that people are walking by and shooting curious glances at them. After about a minute, Beck breaks the kiss and smiles widely at her. She returns his smile and begins to laughing.

He arches his brow in curiosity and waits for the laughter to subside to find out what is so funny.

"It's just that this is crazy. Just a few minutes ago I was being called a tramp and now I'm here, making out with you."

He smiles again at her silliness and instantly feels better. "I'm sorry about Jade" he says getting a bit more serious.

Tori shakes her head. "You don't have to apologize for her. I understand why she's upset and I just really want to put it behind me...behind us."

Beck nods his head in agreement. He grabs the railing and pulls himself up. He helps Tori up as well. "I like that idea. How about we go grab lunch and start putting this behind us?"

"Sushi?" she asks.

"Sushi" he responds.

Both make their way to the doors and head out of school leaving behind a bustle of students all rushing to and from their lockers to gather their belongings and head home. For the first time since they first met, Beck and Tori have the opportunity to develop a stronger relationship, one both had wanted to explore but, until now, could not. While they are sure that the drama between them and Jade is far from over, they are determined to enjoy the rest of the day together.


End file.
